The fifth season of Netflix’s Emmy-winning anthology series Black Mirror will reportedly premiere in December of 2018 and will bring with it an episode that will allow viewers to choose how events in the story play out.
As reported by Bloomberg, Netflix is “developing a slate of specials that will let viewers choose the next storyline in a TV episode or movie,” and the first new project appears to be an episode of Black Mirror, a show that delves deep into the wonder and danger of technology.
The forthcoming, controllable Black Mirror episode will be the first time Netflix has used this format in a live-action series — and it’s the first interactive show designed for adult viewers. It’s also the first of at least two confirmed live-action projects, says Bloomberg, noting also that Netflix is in the process of negotiating the rights to others. Two of the projects are said to be adaptations of video games.
Interactive TV is still very much an experiment; it’s not clear that this is something adults will want in their viewing experience. Needless to say, Netflix has no problem with raising the bar and viewership expectations.
